Garage door



Feb. 2, 1%32. o. 1.. DAUTRICK 1,843,480

GARAGE DOOR Filed Nov. 25. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l W FF 0% i 5 INYFNTORATTORNEY Patented Feb. 2, 1932 UNITED s-TATEs PATENT OFFICE OWEN L.DAUTRICK, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MIESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOOVERHEAD DOOR CORPORATION, OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OFINDIANA omen noon Application filed. November as, 1927. Serial no.235,184.

My invention relates to garage and other doors of like character shownin the accompanying drawings and more particularly described in thefollowing specification and claims.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a horizontallyfolding, vertically movable door of the type known in the trade asjack-knife construction, in which a pair of panels are hinged togetheradapted to close thedoor opening, the construction being such that whenraised the panels are folded and lie one upon the other in asubstantially horizontal position, in line with the upper frame of thedoor opening.

A further object of the invention 1s to provide means forcounter-balancing the door whereby it may be readily raised or lowered,or supported at any altitude.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the doormay be withdrawn from frictional contact with the casing immediatelyupon being lifted, thereby assisting in the raising or lowering of thedoor by relieving it of the frictional drag that would otherwiseobtain,-t-he construction being such however that when the door isclosed it will be brought into abutting contact with the door casing toinsure a tight and satisfactor closure.

A further 0 ject of the invention is to eliminate entirely the use ofsprings, frequently employed to counter-balance the weight of doors ofthis character, thereby avoiding any danger from fracture of the s ring,or. of the latter losing its resiliency t rough use.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and effectivemeans for securing the door when closed which may be easily releasedwhen necessary to raise the door With a minimum expenditure of effort.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention further resides in the combinationand arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes may be made inthe precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed withoutdeparting from the spirit of the same.

In the drawings accompanying this specification:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the door from the inside of the building asit would appear when closed.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on or about line 2-2of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the door as it would appear from theinside of the building when partially raised.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail showing the latching mechanism.

Figure 5 is an end elevation of one of the horizontal track members andthe trolley supported therein.

Referring now to the letters of reference placed upon the drawings:

A denotes a door comprising upper and lower panels B and B hingedtogether.

0 indicates a plurality o hinges connecting the panels together.

D denotes the door frame, against the edge of which the door bears whenclosed.

E designates a horizontal member above the top of the door opening towhich the upper panel is hinged.

G, G, are track members which may be bolted to angle irons G G in turnsuspended by rods H from the ceiling I of the building.

J, J, denote trolley members, housed within and adapted to traverse thetrack members G, provided with arms J extending downwardly from the axleof the trolleys to which are fastened relatively short chains K securedat their lower ends to channel members L, L, respectively bolted to thelower horizontal panel B of the door.

F is a small door hinged to the frame of the lower panel through whichan attendant m the door is closed. 4

P, P, are a pair of rods respectively connecting the swinging latches Mwith a manually rotatable disc Q, having a stub shaft and an operatinghandlenot shownextending through the door to release the latches fromthe outside.

1B. is a locking device diagrammatically shown in Figure 1, adapted toenter a notch formed in the discQ, to lock the latches when 2 the dooris closed.

S is an angle iron secured to the bottom of the door,-and T are chainsor cables secured at one end to the lower panel and. extending upwardlyaround pulleys U suspended from the ceiling the chains being connectedto a plurality of nested super-posed weights V suspended therefrom tocounter-balance the weight. of the door.

W, W, are handles secured to the door panels to assist in manuallyraising and lowering the door.

- laving now indicated the several parts by reference letters, theconstruction and operation of the door will be readily understood.

Assuming that the door is in closed position and it is desired to effectthe release of the same and to raise it sufiicientl to permit the entryor removal of a car rom the garage, the latching members are firstreleased by a manual rotation of the disc Q;- the operation of whichwill be obvious,- thereby raising the L-shaped swinging latches out ofengagement with the catch plates M which receive them when the door isclosed.

The door is manually raised,assisted by the counterpoise weights V,bythe handles W attached to the panels. The channel members L, L, arebolted to the lowermost panel of the door and are connected at theirouter ends through chains with the trolleys J, J, housed within thetrack members G,the trolleys are thus forced by the upward thrust of thedoor panels toward the outer end of the tracks G, thereby supporting thedoor in open position,the panels being then folded together in asubstantially horizontal plane above the door opening.

Upon lifting the door-the panels being hinged together-Will begin tofold out of vertical alignment with each other, and as the lower panelof the door is bolted to the channel members L, L,in turn connected attheir outer ends with the trolleys J, J, by the chains Kthe edge of thelower panel aeaaaeo will simultaneously withdraw-upon raising maticallysupported at any degree of altitude,remaining without additional supportin the position to which it is raised.

When the door is closed and securely latched the channel members Lsecured to the lower panel bear against the upper panel of the door andforce the panels into vertical alignment with each other, thus insuringa tight closure against the door casing.

Having thus described my invention what ll claim is ture including adoor opening, a sectional door comprising a pair of upper and lowerhorizontal panels' hinged to each other against relative slidingmovement and hinged to the building structure .above the door opening, aplurality of track'members extending inwardly at right angles, to thewall of the building above the door opening and located between a spacedsupport within the building structure above the door opening, aplurality of straight channel bars extending from the lower edge of thelower door section and bolted thereto at the upper and lower edges ofsaid lower section and being free of and overlapping the upper doorsection and extending substantially to the top edge of the latter, 'aplurality of trolley wheels adapted to traverse the respective aforesaidtracks and each having a downwardly directed projecting element,relatively short chains permanently connecting said downwardlyprojecting elements of the trolley wheels and the upper ends of theaforesaid bars, whereby the chains assist in maintaining and supportingthe door at all times irrespective of the position of the trolley wheelson the tracks and whether the door is open or closed and whereby thesaid channel bars will force the respective door sections into verticalalignment to eflect a closure of the door opening.

- 2. In combination with a building structure including a door opening,a sectional door comprising a pair of upper and lower horizontal panelshinged to each other against relative sliding movement and hinged to thebuilding structure above the door opening, a plurality of track membersextending inwardly at right angles to the wall of the building above thedoor opening and located between a spaced support within the buildingstructure above the door opening, a lurality of straight channel barsextendlng rom the lower edge of the lower door section and boltedthereto at the upper and lower edges of said lower section and beingfree of and overlapping the upper door section and ex tendingsubstantially to the top edge of the 1. In combination with a buildingstruc latter, a plurality of trolley wheels adapted to traverse therespective aforesaid tracks and each having a downwardly directedprojecting element, relativel short chains permanently connecting saidownwardly roj ecting element of the trolley wheels an the upper ends ofthe aforesaid bars, whereby the chains assist in maintaining and suporting -the door at all times irrespective of t e position of thetrolley wheels on the tracks and whether the door is open or closed andwhereby the said channel bars will force the respective door sectionsinto vertical alignment to effect a closure of the door opening fullysuspended from the frame of the building, weights adapted tocounterbalance the weight of the door sections, flexible elementssecured to the lower door section at the lower edge of the latter andextending around said pulleys and connected with the weights, and meansfor latching the door when closed.

3. In combination with a building structureincluding a door opening, asectional door comprising a pair of horizontal panels hinged to eachother along their abutting edges against relative sliding movement andwith the upper panel section hingedly connected to the buildingstructure above the door opening, a plurality of bars bolted rigidly tothe lower panel section of the door at the upper and lower edges of saidsection and extending into overlapping relation with the upper panelsection of the door so as to extend substantially parallel with theupper panel section when the door is closed, said bars terminating attheir inner ends adjacent the upper edge of the upper panel section,track members arranged within the building structure above the dooropening, trolley wheels adapted to traverse the respective trackmembers, short chains flexibly connecting the trolley. wheels with theupper ends of the respective aforesaid-bars, pulleys suspended from theframe of the building structure, weights adapted to counterbalance theweight of the door, flexible elements secured to the lower panel of thedoor and extending around the pulleys, and means for latching the doorwhen closed, whereby the chains assist in maintaining and sup orting thedoor at all times irrespective of t e position'of the trolley wheels onthe tracks and whether the door is 0 en or closed and whereby theportions of t e aforesaid bars which overlap the upper panel sectionwill force the panels into vertical alignment to effect a closure of thedoor 0 ening.

In testimony whereo I sign this specification.

' OWEN L. DAUTRIGK.

